By Train
“Don’t screw it up!”
That’s the phrase a lot of you might have echoing through your brain as you unwrap a richly marbled, plump, 2-inch-thick ribeye that cost anywhere between $45-65/kg. Chances are you bought two or maybe even three of them which means you’re obviously cooking for an audience. And let’s face it, because we’re all friends here, in a group of say 5 guests, one of them will find it funny if you do overcook or undercook or in some other way mistreat your sizable investment in a sizable feast.
“DON’T screw it up!!” Yup, it gets louder.
But let me help you quiet that unhelpful negative self-talk [Ed. Amateur psychology as well, Train? Impressive.”] Here’s what you need:
- A formula
- A rule
- 5 steps to remember
- 3 ways to have fun with it.
Full disclosure, I’m a purist of sorts and I don’t like using temperature probes. I generally just… use the force. (Ed. Okay, Luke…) The problem is that relying solely on gut feel does mean that you need to corral every ounce of concentration you have and keep it laser focused on the grill the whole time. This is great if you’re all by yourself and you know you won’t be distracted by the need for a drink, the toilet, your phone, blinking etc. That pretty much rules out being sociable or having a good time when people come over. These 10 tips based around my 50-40 rule will help you out. 1. Room temperature ribeye is the best ribeye. As per previous guides, do not take your ribeye from the fridge and put it on the grill unless you enjoy humiliation, scorn, waste and derision. Instead, leave it out to arrive at room temperature in its own sweet time. We love a 1-1.3kg ribeye from our friends at Torre & Mordini Gourmet Meats and have found that it can take a good hour or more to get to where we want it to go temp-wise.
2. Moisture is still your enemy, and it always will be. It’s a huge steak so you’ll need two or three squares of absorbent paper towel to pat it down and make your steak presentable.
3. Get your guests involved. Properly seasoning say 3 of these monsters is a big job, particularly if you’re using standard salt and pepper grinders. By the way, there are few better forearm exercises than grinding enough salt and pepper to cover these delicious portions. If you don’t want forearms like ham hocks, simply pour salt into a bowl, pepper into another bowl and sprinkle liberally. LIBERALLY! Remember, a lot of this (up to 30%) is just going to disappear.
4. Olive oil. The debate still rages on within the FoB ranks as to whether the oil comes before or after the seasoning. I say after, some of the guys say before… try it both ways. But make sure you use it. Okay so some will say, hey, what about mustard, what about coffee rubs etc. That is strictly to taste. Personally, I do ease up on the S&P if I know I’m going to use a coffee rub but, I shy away from mustard etc if I’m familiar with the cut and trust my butcher – I want to taste the richness of the meat, glory in the abundance of marbling and generally celebrate a cut unsullied by additional flavours. If I’m not sure about the cut or I’m feasting away from FoB central, anything goes in the name of experimentation – obviously drawing the line at salad… obviously.
5. The 50-40 rule. Again, you want to be social, enjoy yourself, while also making this whole adventure seem effortless. That means you’ll need breaks in the play, hydration and banter. Well, here’s your chance. Just before you pat down your three, four, five or more ribeyes, preheat your kitchen oven to 50 ˚C (or thereabouts) - fan-forced. When the time is right, you’re going to arrange all these stunning monuments to bovine goodness on the middle tray and leave them there for no less than 40 minutes. But we also found that this rule works at 40 ˚C for 50 minutes or 60 ˚ for 30 minutes. The mathematicians among us have already cottoned-on to the fact that they all add up to 90. 6. Take a break, laugh, shoot some hoops, shoot some pool, shoot the breeze, it’s all good! Eat some of those entrees, forget about the ribeyes and enjoy yourself. You just spent a lot of money on premium steaks, relax and enjoy yourself. But stick to the formula.
7. PANIC! No, not really. Calmly remove these huge hunks of deliciousness from the oven and display them to a stunned crowd of guests. Brilliant! The waiting hotplate next to the grill should be white hot (figurately speaking) and the sizzle when you lay your steak upon it should rival the sound and temperature of jet afterburners. Glorious! Sear each side for 30-60 seconds but treat the fatty side to a generous 90. 8. Timing is everything and depending on your preferred level of “doneness”, grill each side for between a minute and two minutes. Remember the tip from the porterhouse cheat sheet in the last issue? After the turn, slide the steak down to the cooler part of your grill. 9. R ‘n’ R. Rest and rumination. Leave your herd of steaks to rest on the board under an untucked aluminium foil canopy for an agonising 7 minutes. By the way, you won’t last that long – no one can.
10. Adoration time. Remove said canopy with your own trademark flourish, present, slice and fall back into your chair, pretending to be spent. You are a champion, your place in steak lore is now secure and it remains only for you to… Feast on!
I feel like you know this already but just for easy reference, here are the internal temp. guides for you once again.
Rare = 48˚- 50˚ Medium Rare = 52 ˚- 54 ˚ Medium = 58 ˚- 60 ˚
Chars!